Who are you calling a stable boy?!

Even though they've already opened a branch in the ninja world, in the newly built branch headquarters, they still put themselves and his bed in the same room. Even the furnishings of this room look somewhat like the dormitory of the Spirit Arts Academy back in the day.

It's simple and durable, but it's much larger in scale.

Lying on the edge of the bed, Zheng Jing turned a page of the book in his hand.

The books Lao Lan bought, I must say, were all quite suitable for broadening one's horizons.

Just as Zheng Jing was thinking of buying Xue Qing a set of books from Lao Lan's carefully selected list, he heard the door open and, without even looking up, said, "Going to bed early today? You're back pretty early, Lao Lan."

"I was thinking of coming back to talk to you more. It's been a long time since we had a late-night chat like this."

—The moment the soft, pleasant voice reached his ears, Zheng Jing sat bolt upright.

He looked up and stared wide-eyed at the gentle woman who was facing him, her hands behind her back as she closed the door.

"Old... Old Lan?"

Chapter 255: Old Lan, you're a genius!

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

After closing the door, Aizen brushed his long, smooth hair, as soft as willow branches in the rain, over his shoulder and met Zheng Jing's gaze.

She chuckled softly, sat down at the table next to Zheng Jing's bed, picked up the towel hanging in her hand, and handed it to Zheng Jing on the bed: "Help me dry my hair. I remember you said you used to help Xueqing dry her hair. If you can, could you also help me style my hair nicely tomorrow?"

Zheng Jing instinctively took the towel.

"No, no, no! Old Lan, what you're doing—"

He held the towel and examined Aizen closely from head to toe: "You used the Fountain of Drowned Mother?"

"Let's do an experiment."

Aizen closed his eyes, turned around, and faced away from Zheng Jing: "Hmm?"

"oh oh......"

Feeling Zheng Jing gently wiping his long hair with a towel, Aizen continued, "There is an energy in that spring water; to put it simply, it contains a powerful curse."

"If this is a curse that can affect any living thing, then what are its limits under the influence of various variables?"

"For example, what specific effect would it have on me, who uses a prosthetic body?"

"Does it only affect this prosthetic body, or...?"

Aizen opened his eyes, turned his face to the side, and smiled at Zheng Jing.

"Even I myself can be affected?"

"That's definitely not possible."

Zheng Jing shook his head: "But I can tell you about this. When I went out this time, I met a friend named Ranma. He was the one who helped me find the Cursed Spring Village. He accidentally fell into the Spring of Drowned Mother. I saw his female state. His spirit and body were very harmonious, which means that the spring water of the Cursed Spring Village should be able to affect both spirit and body at the same time."

"But—come a little closer, it looks like some water got into your ear... But Old Lan, your soul is too strong, the spring water of Cursed Springs Village can't affect you at all. As a result, hey, this artificial body has changed so much, no wonder you are more restricted in your movements."

At this point, Zheng Jing looked at Aizen from left to right and nodded with satisfaction: "Alright! I'll make sure you're dry!"

Touching his hair, Aizen smiled and turned around.

"It seems that this spring water may not only work on living things, but also on most individuals with souls, such as spirits and energy beings."

"Well... I can't say for sure. We'll probably have to test it out to know."

Zheng Jing shook his head.

"If it really works, then Lao Zheng, you'll have solved a huge problem for the people of this material plane."

"what?"

“Old Zheng, there’s never a shortage of people in the world who judge by appearances. In this material plane, the vast majority of humans are like that. If someone’s appearance is terrifying, then even if they have never done evil, they may still be considered evil, because in the eyes of those who judge by appearances, a terrifying appearance is evil.”

Aizen shook his finger: "Preconceived notions are often a major factor in deepening conflicts."

"so......"

She winked at Zheng Jing: "If the nine tailed beasts were no longer huge and ferocious beasts, but rare beauties who fit human aesthetics, it would be easier to guide humans to coexist with the tailed beasts, wouldn't it?"

Zheng Jing's eyes widened involuntarily.

"I'm super old blue!"

He pulled Aizen into his arms.

"You're a fucking genius!"

Aizen didn't respond; he simply leaned against Zheng Jing.

Her eyebrows were smiling, and her eyes were sparkling.

That being said, whether it will actually work or not remains to be seen until it is tested.

Fortunately, when it comes to tailed beasts, Aizen and Zheng Jing were able to find a novice—a partner—without much effort.

"That's how it is, Yagura, don't worry about it. With me and Lao Lan here, you'll be fine!"

Now, having changed his name and identity, Yagura Karatachi, who serves as a bodyguard for the Fifth Mizukage Mei Terumi as an ANBU member, while secretly assisting Mei Terumi in leading the entire Kirigakure village, set off overnight after receiving Aizen's orders through secret channels. He finally arrived at the Qitianfu branch before Zheng Jing set off to find the Akatsuki organization.

Nearly a year later, Yagura was indeed somewhat surprised to see Zheng Jing again.

To be precise, it was a pleasant surprise.

Zheng Jing's appearance means that the current stalemate between the ninja world's alliance and the Axis powers will inevitably be broken.

However, this surprise was quickly replaced by bewilderment.

—The very moment he saw Aizen.

In order to help Yagura quickly understand the effects of the Drowned Spring, Aizen deliberately wore loose clothing and waited until Yagura arrived before showering himself with hot water in front of him.

"..."

Having witnessed Aizen's transformation firsthand, Yagura was more concerned about whether he was still dreaming and having a strange dream than about the potential life-threatening situation of the Jinchuriki after the Tailed Beast was extracted.

What does it mean to turn a tailed beast into a beautiful girl?

How could someone so old have such a dream?

"Alright, I won't keep you from doing your experiments any longer."

Patting Yagura on the shoulder, Zheng Jing jumped outside and ascended to heaven on golden clouds in the blink of an eye.

Old Lan is busy, and he's never idle.

Now that the players' situation is resolved, it's Akatsuki's turn.

-

Xiao Nan gazed at the figure standing tall under the eaves.

Nagato often manipulates Pain to stand there, which is now the highest point in the entire Land of Rain.

But even looking down from there, one cannot see the true face of this country through the seemingly endless curtain of rain...

"Nagato, could it be... the demon slayer has returned?"

Xiao Nan couldn't help but whisper the question that had been on her mind.

Just now, she reported to Nagato the investigation report on the Grass Country.

Ever since they learned of the bounty hunters' purpose in gathering, they have never let up on monitoring them.

However, since Zetsu disappeared, it has become extremely difficult for the organization to find skilled individuals capable of silently and persistently tracking bounty hunters.

If the organization is like this, then it's even more impossible to find any ninjas in Amegakure, where the general quality of ninjas is not high.

However, given the current situation, she and Pain cannot leave the country at will.

Left with no other choice, Xiao Nan could only instruct her subordinates to do as much as they could.

This means that although they can now confirm that the bounty hunters who occupied the Grass Country suffered heavy losses, they have no idea which force specifically caused the damage, or what became of these bounty hunters after they were injured.

However, from the intelligence relayed by her subordinates, Konan, by piecing together the information, vaguely began to have a feeling...

"You believe it was the work of the Qitian Mansion?"

Nagato asked Pain in return.

"I don't have direct evidence, but I think... it's very likely."

Seeing that Nagato had fallen silent again, Konan hesitated.

"Ok?"

But just before she was about to say something, Payne suddenly looked up at the murky sky outside, where a curtain of rain hung.

"what happened?"

Xiao Nan asked.

Payne gazed at the sky.

The sky over the Land of Rain is always so gray and gloomy, like a rocky mountain made of stone tablets in a cemetery, which will press down on the people below in the blink of an eye.

We have guests.

Chapter 256: Soul Capture? Fun, little brother?

Rain Tiger's Freedom Technique.

This is a special ninjutsu that allows Nagato to monitor the entire Land of Rain by mixing his massive chakra into the almost incessant rain of the Land of Rain, combined with his powerful sensory abilities as a member of the Uzumaki clan.

In theory, any intruder exposed to the rain would be detected by him.

Not to mention intruders like Zheng Jing, who make no attempt to conceal their presence.

"Oh? Not bad, not bad. The locals are so kind and honest, they even know to come out and greet guests."

Stepping on the golden cloud formed by his inner force, Zheng Jing stopped and looked at the two figures blocking his way. He then clasped his hands together in front of his chest.

"DOMO, Nagato = SAN, Konan = SAN, Desu the Yokai Slayer."

"...Zheng Jing, the monster assassin, I never expected you to actually still be alive."

"?"

The first words spoken by Nagato, controlling Pain, made Zheng Jing's eyes widen: "Hey? What do you mean? Who's so shameless as to spread rumors that I, Old Zheng, am dead? Leave your name here! I'm going to come and have a good talk with them!"

Seeing Zheng Jingyi roll up his sleeves, looking furious, Pain shut his mouth.

Back then, that man took Jue to find Zheng Jing, but then disappeared without a trace.

Another major event that occurred during the same period was that the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Kuraki, was attacked on his own territory by a monster slayer!

According to reports from spies planted in the Land of Water, it is said that Yagura finally managed to repel the demon assassin by releasing the Three-Tails, but he died shortly afterward due to his severe injuries.

This battle propelled the Demon Slayer, who was only somewhat known within the small circle of bounty hunters, to the forefront of the leaders of various ninja villages.

The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, is a rare and perfect Jinchūriki.

During the Third Shinobi World War, the reason why people were unwilling to provoke the Land of Water and the Hidden Mist Village was not only because of the Land of Water's geographical advantage and the Hidden Mist Village's isolation.

Yet, this very same Yagura died because of a previously unknown bounty hunter.

Who would have thought that such a figure would suddenly emerge only after World War III?

However, after this major incident, intelligence agencies from various countries searched everywhere but never found any trace of the monster assassin.

Naturally, some people suspected that the monster slayer was dead.

He may have died directly in the battle against Yagura.

It's also possible that, like Yagura, he died after the war due to severe injuries.

Nagato and Konan are both people who believe that most of the monster slayers are dead.

However, their guesses about the cause of death were completely different from those of the vast majority of people.

Nagato and Konan suspected that Zheng Jing and that man had a dead end, and that they had died together.

Since that man and Jue set off to cause trouble for Zheng Jing, they haven't sent back a single word.

After that, Nagato and Konan retaliated several times based on the intelligence they had gathered, and eventually reached a consensus.

Although there were still many doubts and the result was incomprehensible to them, after much thought, they could only admit that it was the most reasonable result at the time.

—But when Zheng Jing actually appeared before them, so lively and energetic, Nagato and Konan realized that there were always more incredible outcomes waiting for them to discover.

"Did you do the things that happened in the Land of Grass?"